Phil’s not ready to be put out to grass, Lower Loxley is too small and Susan’s not happy with Julia (again).

Radio Times: Julia gives a surprise present.

Characters: Lizzie, Neil, Nigel, Ruth, Solly, Susan

• Susan’s just received a very strange visit from Julia. She’d finished knitting the shawl and Julia was straight down to collect it as soon as Susan rang to tell her. Susan thought that Julia was being a little clandestine, making sure that Susan wouldn’t tell anyone about it, but Susan thought little of it. Until a little later, that is ….
• Ruth and her dad are off to the PYO to get some strawberries and while they’re alone picking Solly takes the opportunity to mention the accomodation issues at Brookfield. He offers to move, with Heather, down to the bunglow to allow Phil and Jill to return to the house. He’s making sure that Ruth realises that Phil is still an asset to the farm and that he living in the bungalow – especially now Jill is almost fit again – might look a little like pensioning him off. Ruth’s sure that they’ll swap when her parents-in-law are ready, only it’s seemed that she and David are the ones unready to swap back!
• Nigel and Lizzie are just not sure what to do about Atherton Lodge. There’s no escaping the fact that one of their major deficiencies is lack of accomodation and converting a few cottages is not going to cut it. Lizzie suggests, and while Nigel’s generally opposed he’s admirally pragmatic, that selling a couple of cottages or one of the tenanted farms might raise enough capital to finance a purpose-built accomodation block.
• Julia’s presented Lizzie with the shawl … passing it off as all her own work! Nigel’s stunned at the quality and, later, in the pub Lizzie mentions the shawl to Susan who finally twigs what all the secrecy is about. She’s not surprised and wonders why she continues to get mixed up in Julia’s schemes and she start to think about her she can plot her revenge ….